The Flames of Olympus are a great power that was formed by the gods, and it is also the only way to defeat them. It may have an enticing glow, but its touch is lethal to both man and god.

After Gaia betrayed Kratos and lets him fall in the depths of the Underworld, Athena returns to aid Kratos in his quest to kill Zeus. Puzzled on why Athena would help him kill her father, he learns that the Flames of Olympus are the only way to defeat a God; including the king of the gods. When he reaches the Flames in Olympus, he discovers Pandora's Box at the heart of it. Athena explained that the true power to kill a God rests within. But to reach it, he must first seek out Pandora herself. As explained by Hephaestus, he used the Flame to help him forge the box to contain the evils born of the Titanomachy. The Flame itself would be the perfect safeguard for the box. But to pacify it, a key is required. The key he created was born out of the heart of the Flame: Pandora.

Kratos sought out Pandora and managed to rescue her from the labyrinth. But to get her to the Flame, he had the raise the Labyrinth. First, he assembled the Labyrinth, before breaking the Chain of Balance down in the Underworld. Then, using a crank by the Flame, he raised the Labyrinth, bringing Pandora to it, while causing the foundations of Olympus to crumble. After a fight with Zeus, Kratos reluctantly released Pandora into the Flame, granting him access to the box. But when he opened it, the box was empty.